Tracing Revenge
by AwesomeCupcakes
Summary: Sonic and the others cross paths with a mysterious girl of a strange species. She's running from a haunting past, hoping to involve as little people as possible. That's not going to happen.
1. Chapter One: Found

**Chapter 1: Found**

"Where the hell am I now?"

A black hedgehog with red stripes along the dorsal side of his quills, and some running halfway up his arms and legs glances around himself as he limps through the woods he just recently entered.

"If I'd have known that I'd be lost and in this much pain, I would have let myself burn up and die instead of wasting my last bit of energy using that damn chaos control-" he cuts himself off after his foot meets an overgrown tree root, who sends him in the wrong direction – face first into the dirt. After hacking up the mud and pebbles lodged in his mouth and throat, the miserable hedgehog wipes his mouth with his tattered white-gloved hand. He stands and brushes away the dirt and grime from his fur. Once he attempts to continue walking, his legs refuse to cooperate and send immense pain streaming through his legs and feet, causing the hedgehog to wail.

"Alright..." he winces, "I think I'll rest here, then." The black clump of matted fur eases himself down onto a large, flat rock and lies down, "There better be a village nearby." He ponders a moment before realizing aloud, "I need to stop talking to myself." He surveys around him, thinking and wondering. _I wonder if Sonic is close? In some ways I hope so, even if he is troublesome. Regardless of who it is I need someone..._He soon drifts into a much needed rest, unaware of how close to Sonic he really is.

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"Amy, Tails and I are goin' out. Be back later!" Sonic the hedgehog, a beaming, blue hedgehog, shouts before opening the front door.

Amy the hedgehog, whose pink fur illuminates the white walls of the house, rushes over to them, "Wait! Where are you guys going?"

"Just for a walk," Tails, the yellow, two-tailed fox, replies.

"Oh, okay then. Just be back soon for dinner."

"Uh...okay," Sonic and Tails mumble in unison.

Once Sonic and Tails walk outside, Tails peeks up at Sonic and mumbles, "Are you sure we should go out?"

Sonic quietly whispers back to Tails, "Yeah, it's fine! Just hopefully we'll get home before Amy burns the house down."

Tails nods, "Yeah, hopefully."

After playing around for a while at the beach, Sonic and Tails decide to hike around the woods.

"Sonic, it's starting to get dark, don't you think we should be heading home now?" Tails asks.

"Come on. Lets just walk a little further."

Tails sighs, "Okay, fine..."

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Not so far away from Sonic, Tails, and Shadow, a figure runs through the trees.

"I need to continue moving. They cannot find me. I will not let them find me! I'll die first! I need to calm down, or else something could happen. I'm acting too recklessly. Okay, so, where am I now? Well, if I find a village I'll ask someone there. I must be careful. I can't trust anyone," a troubled hedgehog mulls. "What was that? I heard something. What is it? Oh, it was probably just my paranoid mind making stuff up. I'm so paranoid that I'm starting to hear things!" she mutters to herself. "Hell, I'm even talking to myself! I must be going insane," she throws her arms in the air in a frustrating gesture.

The girl's run slows to a tired walk, trying to find a village. She breathes heavily and staggers as she walks. After hours of walking, the dirty, green hedgehog finally slumps to the sienna muck, blacked out.

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Sonic and Tails are about to head home when they hear someone mumbling.

"Did you hear that, Tails?" Sonic whispers to Tails.

"Yes I did. Who do you think it is? I hope it's not some scary, murderous man."

Sonic silently looks at Tails, twisting his facial features into a confused and addled expression. Tails merely flushes deep red and ignores Sonic's bewildered contortion.

Sonic and Tails peek through nearby bushes. They crouch speechlessly. Lying there, only a few feet away from them, is Shadow, who is known to be dead.

_What's that?_ Shadow thinks to himself as he notices the bushes move. He scrambled off the rock and to his feet, "Who's there?" Sonic and Tails emerge from the bushes. Shadow's jaw drops, "Sonic? Tails? Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's us...but...but I thought you were dead." Sonic answers, astonished.

"No, I didn't die. I managed a chaos control and ended up in some deserted town. I've been trying to reach another town for days. I entered these woods not too long ago. I never knew I was even close to you guys."

"Well, it's good that you're alive," Tails smiles, though a bit uneasily.

"Yeah, it is. Come on, we should get back so we can eat. Shadow, you come with us. We'll get you cleaned up and give you something to eat. I hope Amy hasn't already blown up the house," Sonic says, already walking toward his house.

"Thanks, guys." Shadow mutters, annoyed at himself for appearing so useless and beat up. He attempts to follow behind Sonic and Tails, but the pain of his legs surge once more, sending him to his knees with a grimace.

Sonic pauses because of the lack of Shadow's footsteps and turns to face him, "Hey, Shadow, are you alright? Do you need some help?" Sonic and Tails approach him and each reach out a hand, but Shadow ignores them and tries to stand up on his own, but fails once more. "Just take my hand, Shadow."

"I'm fine," Shadow sneers, smacking Sonic's hand away foolishly. Sonic responds with a sigh and takes a step back, tugging on Tails for him to step back too. Shadow hesitates for a moment, then pushes himself off the ground quickly and regains his balance. "See? I'm fine." He takes a few steps, now in front of the other two, but on the fourth step, he begins to teeter. Tails hurries next to him, supporting him. "What did I just say?"

"Stop being stubborn!" Tails states firmly, staring up harshly into Shadow's red eyes. Shadow sighs loudly, but doesn't push Tails away. Sonic returns to their sides and grins at Tails, silently praising his assertion, although secretly surprised as well.

The three of them walk for about ten minutes until Shadow says he sees something, "I've never seen that kind of animal before." Shadow points Sonic and Tails to where he notices the figure. They study it. It seems to be a female lemur. A very unusual lemur. Her silky green fur appears rather dull and matted with dirt. Her hair flows slightly past her shoulders in a tangled mess. Cuts and bruises stain her body, some spots darkened with dried, mahogany blood. Her body looks weak, as if she has not eaten for days. The right sleeve of her black t-shirt is completely torn off. Rips and tears decorate the rest of her shirt. Her blue jeans are torn, with a few thorns imbedded into the material. She wears no shoes, causing slices and gashes all around, and the only part remaining of the gloves she equips are the cuffs. She's a complete mess.

"I think we should help her out," Shadow poses, feeling pity and empathy, considering he was just in the same situation.

"Yeah, sure. I think we could lend her a helping hand." Sonic replies as he and Tails lift the oddly colored lemur up. "I hardly ever see lemurs anymore...and never with such a color..." he mumbles quietly to himself, then addresses his fox friend, "Tails, fly up and see how much longer it should take 'til we get home."

"Okay, Sonic." Tails flies up and scans the area. When he comes back down, he reports, "It should take only about another ten minutes."

"That's good," Sonic says, carrying the injured animal while Tails helps support Shadow.

They reach the house and rush inside. Rain begins beating the ground.

"It's about time that you guys got... oh my God... Shadow?" Amy stands, shocked as they hurry in.

"Yes, it's me..." Shadow mumbles as he watches Tails and Sonic carry the female lemur inside and place her gently on the sofa.

"Who's that?" Amy asks Sonic as her eyes shift to the motionless figure.

"We found her when we were heading here. She seemed like she needed help so we brought her with us."

"Oh, I see. I'll get some ice, she looks like she's very swollen," Amy says quickly without analyzing the situation too harshly..

"Good idea," Shadow says as he cautiously limps to the green, swollen lump on the sofa. He feels the hedgehogs forehead, "Get some for her head too, she feels warm."

"Okay, I will," Amy shouts in return from another room.

The girl moans and everyone's attention focuses on her. She tries to get up, but she can't move. "Where... the hell am I?"

"Well hello there. You are at my house. My friends and I found you lying unconscious in the woods," Sonic replies with a friendly grin.

"We thought that you looked like you were in need of some help," Shadow mumbles.

"Well... um... thank you," she stammers.

Amy returns with a few towels with ice wrapped in them. She places them on the major swollen areas of the girl's body, putting the last one on her forehead, "Here, this should help you feel better."

"It's cold!" Andrea gasps, nearly knocking all the ice towels off.

"It's supposed to be cold," Amy chuckles. "If it's not cold then it wouldn't be of much help."

"By the way, I think we should introduce ourselves. I'm Sonic the hedgehog and this is my house."

"I'm Amy, I live here with Sonic."

"Hello, I'm Miles Tails Prower, but you can call me Tails. I also live here with Sonic."

Shadow merely mumbles, "I'm Shadow the hedgehog..."

"Hello, and thank you for helping me. My name is... Andrea. As I'm sure you can see, I am a lemur..." Andrea says quietly as she starts to doze off.

"Good, she's falling asleep. She needs it. Lets go figure out what to eat now. I haven't made dinner yet," Amy whispers as she tip-toes into the kitchen, motioning for everyone else to follow.


	2. Chapter Two: Suspicion

**Chapter 2: Suspicion**

"Andrea, wake up, you need to eat something," Sonic says, shaking Andrea softly.

"Huh?"Andrea moans, slowly opening her eyes. "Ugh," she squeaks, her strained, reddened eyes squinting unwillingly, reluctant to remain visible. She closes her eyes once more for a moment, rubbing them slightly with her better hand, since the other bore more gashes. After a minute, she again attempts to open her eyes, blinking them repeatedly; she peers at Sonic, who still looms over her, waiting patiently for her response. Confusion passes over her quickly before she replies, "Oh, okay." Andrea sluggishly rises. She nearly falls, but Sonic catches her before she impacts the ground. "Thanks," Andrea leans on Sonic for support as they hobble into the dining room.

"Sit down over here," Shadow directs as he points to an empty chair across from him. Andrea slides into her chair along with everyone else.

"So, Amy, what's for dinner tonight?" Tails asks nervously.

"Pizza," Amy declares happily, "It was delivered about five minutes ago. I didn't feel like cooking today."

Sonic and Tails sigh in relief.

Amy serves everyone two slices of pizza and then joins them at the table with her own plate.

After they finish, all of them take a seat in the living room.

"So, Andrea, where are you from? Are there a lot of other lemurs there? I've hardly seen any of your kind around here. And I've definitely never seen a green lemur like you," Sonic questions.

"Where am I from? I... um... come from... uh... a place you've probably never heard of, so it wouldn't really help to say. There are other lemurs, but only my family line are green like this. I don't really know why," Andrea answers nervously.

"Well, okay then. How old are you?"

"I just turned 18 last month – March."

"Hm... okay. What were you doing in the woods like that? Did something happen?" Sonic asks carefully.

"What's with all the questions?!" Andrea shouts, feeling uneasy and irritated.

"Sorry! I thought you wouldn't mind me asking. If you told the others and I, we could help you get back home," Sonic insists.

"It's okay, I'll get home by myself," Andrea responds flatly. _I can't go home. I can never go home after what happened. I have to make sure these new _friends_ of mine never find out what had happened. They can't get involved,_ she thinks to herself.

"Well if you're sure," Tails murmurs, interrupting Andrea's thoughts.

Amy stares at Andrea for a minute; she decides to ask, "How did you manage to get so cut up?"

Andrea's eyes widen and she jerks her head down, staring into her lap, "Well, um, I guess I've never been a very careful person. Of course, too, being so tired and all, I tripped a lot over the tree roots..." she lies, speaking almost too fast to understand "...and I guess falling into the thorn bushes, which seem to populate the majority of those woods, caused most..."

"I see..." Amy replies, quizzically.

Andrea peeks up to find Shadow staring at her. She focuses on him and grumbles quietly, "What?"

Andrea surprises Shadow, whose face stretches back in minor shock, "Huh?! Oh, nothing. Just thinking. I just happened to be looking at you."

"Oh, well, okay," Andrea mutters, not believing him in even the least.

"Hey, I have an idea. Lets go to Angel Island to visit Knuckles. We'll stop and get Rouge on the way." Amy suggests. "We can introduce Andrea to them, if it's alright with her."

Everyone turns to Andrea. "I guess, sure," she says a little nervously.

"Let's get moving, then," Shadow states, glad to get out of his uncomfortable position.

_Great,_ Andrea thinks to herself, _more acquaintances I have to lie to. Lying sucks._

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Sonic walks up to the pink and black house and knocks on the door.

"Come in!" shouts the familiar voice of Rouge.

Everyone steps into the well designed house. The elegant entrance room flows into the living room, decorated with pink and white polka dot wallpaper and white carpeting. A large black cabinet, holding a tv rests against the side wall, with a black leather sofa lounged in front of it. A petite glass coffee table, holding a vase of faux flowers and some kind of jewels magazine, rests between the cabinet and the couch. Tall, white lamps linger on each side of the sofa, illuminating the room. Jewels and small chests furbish the room along the walls as well as some small end tables and desks. Rouge emerges from a walk-through doorway, which appears to lead into a tan kitchen.

"Wow!" Amy says, dazzled, "Your house is wonderful!"

"Well of course it is!" Rouge regards, "And who is this?"

"I'm Andrea the Lemur. Your friends helped me heal the bad wounds I got from losing myself in the woods."

"Oh you poor dear," Rouge remarks in a subtly sarcastic tone. "So what are you all doing here?"

"We came to see if you wanted to come up to Angel Island with us and introduce Andrea to Knuckles also," Sonic explains

Rouge studies the oddly-colored lemur, "Sure, why not? I haven't seen that echidna creep in a while."

"Come on. We can go in the Tornado," Tails insists.

"Okay! Lets go!" Sonic beams.

Tails leads everyone to his creation and begins situating the others in, "It's going to be tight, since there's so many of us, but just try to hold on!"

"I'll ride on the wing, Tails, so there's more room!"

Tails nods and climbs in himself once Shadow, Rouge, and Andrea settle in. He then fires the engine and takes off.

The floating island soon draws closer, becoming more and more visible and distinct. "Here we are. Angel Island!" Sonic shouts.

Andrea's jaw drops, "This is Angel Island? It's so beautiful!"

"Yes, this is Angel Island. It is pretty isn't it. The first time I saw it, I felt like I was in heaven. Maybe that's one reason it's called Angel Island," Amy comments.

"Well, it makes sense," Andrea agrees, still gawking over the island.

"Yeah..." Shadow mumbles.

"Hold on tight! We're gonna land!" Tails warns everyone. Everyone grabs hold of their seat as the machine sinks towards the lush green carpeting below.

Knuckles walks toward the plane, "Hello! What a surprise. What are you guys doing–" Knuckles spots Andrea, "Who is she?"

"This is Andrea," Rouge turns to Andrea, "Andrea, this is Knuckles. He's a creep, so don't get too close."

"Um...hello, Knuckles," Andrea murmurs.

"Shut up Rouge," he snarls, glaring at her briefly before looking back to Andrea, "Hello. I think you'll enjoy Angel Island. It's a rather nice place," Knuckles says a little uneasily. _There's something about her that seems different. What's with her fur? I've never seen her species around here. I don't like it,_ Knuckles thinks to himself, _Well, I'll have to hope it's just my imagination._

They show Andrea around Angel Island, Knuckles acting as the tour guide. The last place they visit is Knuckles's shrine.

"This is my shrine. I keep the chaos emeralds and the master emerald here. I try my best to keep them safe. Once in a long while someone might grab an emerald, but they don't have it for long," he momentarily glares at Rouge, who grins and shrugs in response. "They never do because I get to them before they can use it," Knuckles gloats to Andrea.

"You must care about the emeralds a lot," Andrea states.

"Yes, I do. It's my duty to protect them. They could put everyone in danger if stolen. Plus, if the master emerald was taken from here, Angel Island will slowly fall and sink into the sea. The master emerald is what keeps this island floating," Knuckles dictates, appearing as serious as ever.

"Wow... they're that powerful?" Andrea gawks, her violet eyes glowing with interest.

"Yes, incredibly powerful. Too powerful for someone who doesn't know how to use them. I have to protect them from those who wish to steal it. If they were to fall into the wrong hands, our planet and everyone on it will be in danger," Knuckles affirms, feeling very uncomfortable telling these things to this outsider, especially when it's someone that he does not trust.

"Wow..." Andrea replies in awe. _I wonder how powerful I could be if I got a hold of those emeralds. Maybe I could finish the job. And then no one could hurt me for what I did. No one could hurt me..._ Andrea thinks. _But what if they catch me? They would not help me anymore. Although, what would be worse is if I were their friend, and then they find out about my past... no. I cannot think of the worst. I must think ahead before it's too late. I need to leave them as quickly as possible._

"Andrea?" Shadow says, interrupting her thoughts.

"Huh? What?"

"Sorry, you were just standing there, not moving or blinking. I thought something was wrong."

"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong. I was just daydreaming," Andrea smiles, trying not to sound nervous.

"About what?" Knuckles asks suspiciously.

"Oh, well, nothing really. It was just, like, blank, you know what I mean?" Andrea tries her hardest not to give the slightest hint of her nervousness.

_Sure Andrea, sure_, Knuckles thinks. _Just you wait. I'll find out what you're hiding from us. I know you're hiding something. This something also better not have anything to do with the emeralds either._

"Why don't we take Andrea somewhere now? How about we go and get some ice cream?" Tails asks out of the blue.

"Sure, why not..." Shadow concurs.

"Yeah!" Sonic shouts.

"Alright!" Amy yells.

"Okay, I guess." Knuckles says.

"Okay, sure!" Rouge chuckles.

"Um... alright, I guess..." Andrea mumbles, relieved.

They take the Tornado into the village to buy ice cream. They go to a small ice cream shop in the village.

"Here's your change," the cashier says, holding out a few bills to Sonic.

"Thank you sir," Sonic replies as he puts the change away and hands everyone their ice cream.

"Yummy! This is delicious!" Amy declares; everyone nods in agreement, all except Andrea who slowly licks her ice cream.

"What's wrong Andrea? You don't like ice cream?" Rouge laughs.

"What? Oh, well, I think ice cream's okay. I'm just not in the mood right now..."

"Well, what's wrong?" Knuckles asks suspiciously.  
"I guess I'm still a little weak and tired. Maybe we should head back to Sonic's house, if that's okay? It is okay right? I'm not imposing am I?"

"No, no, it's fine, really. I already have those two–" he motions to Tails and Amy, who both tilt their head in confusion "–who I can manage to live with all the time. It's okay to add one more for a few days." Sonic stands and tosses the paper towel previously wrapped around the ice cream cone, "Alright. Lets go. Andrea, you can get some rest," Sonic says, walking towards his house. Andrea nods gratefully. Her and the others follow behind the blue director.

When they return, Sonic leads Andrea and Shadow to a room that they can sleep in, "Here we are. Good thing this room's big enough for two." Inside the room, two beds sit with a long dresser in between them against the wall. A wall lamp hangs above the dresser. The drawn shades cover the window, with dim light peeking through. The solid, burgundy walls appear darker without the bright radiance of light. Andrea feels the soft carpet brush against her feet as she walks in. Sonic flicks on the lamp poised comfortably next to the door.

"Looks cozy," Shadow comments quietly as he plops onto one of the beds.

"Yes... cozy," Andrea sits on the other bed and lies down.

"The rest of us will go to sleep now. Goodnight!" Sonic says. Before leaving, he switches on the wall lamp to its first setting, a dim glow. He flicks the standing lamp off on his way out; he heads to his own room.

Soon all the lights, except Andrea's and Shadow's dim glow, are off.

"So, what's really the matter. I don't believe it's because you're tired," Shadow pries, turning to Andrea.

"Well, I don't know. I just... I don't think Knuckles likes me very much... that's one thing, and... um... never mind..."

"What? What were you going to say? Tell me."

"I said _never mind_!"

"Fine, fine. Whatever." Shadow lies down, facing away from Andrea. _Doesn't make much of a difference to me regardless of whether or not she says anything_, he sulks stubbornly.

Soon both Shadow and Andrea fall asleep, along with everyone else, unaware of strange upcoming events.


	3. Chapter Three: Runaway

**Chapter 3: Runaway**

Andrea's eyes snap open.

After sitting up slowly, she rubs her eyes and head, looking around the room, _Oh, just a dream,_ she thinks wearily. The clock beside the bed radiates 5:37 through the black room. _So early...good thing I woke up this early. No one's probably awake yet._ _I have to get out of here. If I don't, my new friends will be in danger. I have to leave now_, she thinks as she carefully lifts herself off her bed without causing it to squeak.

Andrea opens the window to the left of her bed and slides outside quietly, trying not to wake anyone up. She dashes into the patches of woods, using the trees and bushes as cover. _I must find a new place to stay. I can't stay in one place too long anyway. It's strange, I want to find him, but I don't want him to find me...anyway...I cannot put my new friends in danger, and I hope that they'll never know why, _Andrea worries as she hurries through the woods, trying to find a suitable place for food and shelter.

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Shadow yawns, stretching, and looks over to discover Andrea's empty bed, "Andrea?" He glances at the bedside clock, 6:54, before quietly tiptoing downstairs to see if Andrea is already up, "Andrea?" Shadow whispers again.

Silence.

Shadow walks into the kitchen, thinking that she might have gotten hungry, "Andrea?"

Silence.

"Well, I'll wait until the others wake up." Shadow sits down sighing.

Soon, once an hour passes, everyone trots down the stairs and notices Shadow, his chin resting on the palm of his hand, staring out the window while lying on the couch, a distant look in his eyes.

"Good morning, Shadow," Sonic yawns, "Where's Andrea?"

"I don't know. She's nowhere to be found."

"She must've left the house, but I wonder why." Tails says while stretching.

"I'll tell you why," everyone turns to Knuckles, who had stayed the night at Sonic's along with Rouge as well, "Andrea's hiding something. I can tell. She's nervous a lot when we ask her questions about herself. A good example is when she was daydreaming."

"Don't over analyze everything! You don't know that she's hiding something!" Amy shouts, shocked at Knuckles's all-knowing attitude.

"Yes, I do. I'm positive that she's hiding something. I can hear it in her voice – her nervousness. The fear of us finding out. I can tell."

"Well, Mr. Know-It-All, if she really is hiding something, then where do you suppose she has gone? Someone as knowing and smart as you _must_ know where she is headed," Rouge snickers sarcastically.

"Well, I don't know _exactly_-"

"Just as I thought," Rouge laughs, cutting him off.

"-but," he continues, ignoring Rouge's cackling, "I do know that I want to find out what it is," Knuckles walks towards the door, "I'm finding out whether either of you come with me or not."

Everyone lets out an exasperated sigh.

Sonic steps in front of Knuckles and stares into his face, "You seem very sure of yourself, Knuckles. Alright, I'll come. This might be fun!" He turns to address everyone else, giving each of them a questioning gaze.

"I'll come with you," Shadow groans.

Rouge chuckles, "You're so nosy, but I might as well tag along; I have to see if you turn out to be right."

Amy and Tails look at each other and nod, "We'll come too."

"Alright then, lets go!" Knuckles opens the door and steps out.

Sonic hurries next to him and pats his shoulder, "Hey! What do you think you're doing? Aren't I usually the leader around here?" Sonic tosses his head back and laughs, "Who says you get to lead this time? Well, I guess it's alright, since you seem so fired up about this." Knuckles lightly chuckles and pats Sonic on the back.

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"Hm...I wonder where a safe place to hide would be," Andrea wonders aloud. "I have some money. Maybe I can just buy food and make my own small shelter instead of finding somewhere to stay. Then I don't have to trouble anyone." Andrea ponders this idea for a minute, "Yeah, I think I'll do that. That way no one will be in any danger aside from myself." Andrea steps out of the woods and into the next town over from Sonic's and searches for a food store.

Once she finds one, she walks inside; she cruises around the store and picks up some food and water she believes will be of good use. She puts items in a cart and continues looking around. After she determines she has enough food to last a week or so, she picks a line for the cash register. She purchases the necessities she gathered and leaves. Andrea hurries back into the woods with the fresh food and water.

"It's a good thing I brought money with me, although I don't have much left." She analyzes her surroundings, "This looks like a good spot to make a shelter. Deep enough into the woods to not be easily noticed, but not too far away from the towns in case I need something else." The trees tower over her, nearly blocking the sun's rays. In the spot she chooses, three oak trees form a triangle, creating a large, comfortable shade. Thick, ongoing vines climb the oaks like ropes. Berry-filled bushes surround the triangle as confinement. Damp green grass carpets the area beautifully, with a flowery design and flagrance. "I better get started," Andrea begins collecting sticks and large leaves. Using the oak trees as support, she starts wrapping the vines previously attached to the oaks around the triangle of trees, creating triangular vine walls. She continues so the vines are close to one another as she circles the trees, enveloping the inside of the triangle as if it were inside a fence. Once she finally makes the walls of vines taller than herself, she ties the end of the vines to a part of one of the trees so it remains in place. Andrea grabs two large sticks and uses them to hold open a section of the vines, pushing them apart from each other to create a door. She secures the sticks in place and reinforces them so the won't break or so the vines won't snap.

After a long period of building, still unfinished, Andrea takes a break and drinks a little bit of water. She lies resting on the ground, thinking of what might happen to her, wondering how long she's be running, hoping that she can survive alone.

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"It's been three hours and we still haven't found Andrea! Where could she be?" Shadow growls, getting frustrated.

"We've looked all over the village and we're back at my house!" Sonic shouts.

"Calm down. We still haven't looked in the woods yet. She could be hiding in there," Knuckles insists. "Come on, lets go in the woods before it gets too dark."

They venture into the woods, unsure of what they will find.

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"I think I'm finally done!" Andrea declares, plopping down on a nearby rock, "That took forever!" Andrea crawls into the little shelter she has completed and looks around, slightly pushing and tugging on things, "Nice and secure, good." She steps outside once more, analyzing her new home. The stretched door is small, but well made. The strong, thick vine walls remain close together and extremely tight, without sagging. The leaf roof – leaves carefully sewn together with the thread Andrea bought at the store – fits perfectly and securely. The leaves are huge and thick as well. "It may be small, but it should be strong and big enough for me and all this stuff."

Andrea takes the food and water she bought, and puts it inside her shelter. She surveys what she has. There are many fruits and vegetables, along with crackers, bread, and three boxes of cereal. She also has numerous water bottles. "This should last for about two weeks or so. I'll be sure not to eat too much. I need to conserve."

Andrea finds some thick leaves and laces them together, like she did for the roof, making a blanket to use for the cold nights, considering she ran out of money to buy one. Afterwards, she sits inside her small, new home. "Looks pretty good for a home I built myself," she confirms proudly, then lies down and quickly falls asleep.

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In front of a monitor stands a heavy man with a long, orange mustache and no hair on the top of his head, "She's fallen asleep. Hurry to her before Sonic and the rest find her. Immediately!"

"Yes, sir," the robots reply.

"Metal!" the fat man shouts.

A robot closely resembling Sonic approaches the evil scientist, "Yes, sir?"

"Go to Sonic and try to keep him busy so the robots can get the girl before Sonic and the others find her. If you want, you can get rid of him too, since he's such a nuisance, along with all his _buddies_."

"Yes, sir!" Metal rushes out of the building to find Sonic.

The evil man turns back to the monitor, "I'll catch you soon, Andrea. Even if it's the last thing I do."


	4. Chapter Four: Trouble

**Chapter 4: Trouble**

"What was that?" Sonic spins around.

"What was what?" Tails asks.

"That sound, a rustling, like someone's following us."

"You know what? I think I heard it too..." Rouge complies, looking around.

"Yea, me too," Amy mutters, also scanning around.

"It's probably nothing," Shadow grunts.

"I didn't hear anything. Lets just keep going," Knuckles orders, walking ahead.

Everyone sighs. Sonic, Tails, Rouge, and Amy continue radar, searching for what has made that noise.

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"I see them, and I'm keeping a close watch. I won't show myself until they are getting too close, or when the robots have made it to the target. The reason is, since I am out numbered, they might defeat or get by me easily, or more quickly, over," Metal says into a walkie-talkie.

A voice emits from the walkie-talkie, "Okay, I understand. I'll let you know when you can come back, over and out."

Metal returns the walkie-talkie to a belt around his waist. He peers at Sonic through the bushes, waiting until the right time to initiate his attack.

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Andrea wakes up to the sound of rustling. She strains to hear where the sound is coming from.

Andrea gets up and crawls out of her little hut to look. Before she can take one step, a robot leaps out and grabs her. Andrea tries to scream, but the robot clasps a hand tightly over her mouth. The freezing, metal hand sends a chill through Andrea's body. Her eyes widen as she attempts to pry the seal from her mouth, freezing her fingers in doing so. _Damn hunk of junk. Why is he so cold? Yeah, it's cold outside tonight, but is he intentionally freezing? _she wonders, panicking fiercely. She manages to remove his hand for a brief moment; however, instead of a scream for help, only a quiet gasp escapes her mouth before the robot gains control once more.

The robot quickly runs away, with Andrea struggling to free herself from his arms. She attempts to twist and turn every which way, but the robot clutches her in a firm grip, a painful grip. Her mouth hurts from the hunk of junk's hand. Her entire body temperature seems to be dropping, as if she just jumped into the Arctic Ocean. Within minutes, she passes out, trapped in the rushing robots clamped arms.

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Metal grabs the walkie-talkie and listens to Eggman, "Okay, Metal. It's time. Go out there and stall them so that the robots can get away and back to me before Sonic finds them, over."

"Yes sir, over and out," Metal turns off the walkie-talkie and puts it in his belt. He gets ready to go out, he just needs to make the timing perfect. He slowly trails behind the group, watching their movements, preparing to interrupt.

Sonic and Knuckles are up ahead a bit further, while Shadow, Tails, Amy, and Rouge trail behind.

All of a sudden, a figure jumps out in front of them.

"What the..." Knuckles gasps as he stares at the figure.

Sonic walks toward the figure cautiously, "Hello? Who are you?" Just then, a metal hand suddenly grabs Sonic and slams him hard to the ground.

"Sonicཀ" Amy screams as she runs over to his side. "Sonic, are you alrightཀ"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sonic carefully rises, rubbing the back of his head, and turns to face the assailant. He gasps when it steps out of the shadows, "Metal? What are you doing here?"

"There is no need for you to know this information," Metal spin dashes and slices Sonic as he passes, sending Sonic to the ground once more.

"Heyཀ What do you think you're doing?" Knuckles sprints up to Metal and rapidly punches him. Only a few minor dents appear on Metal's metal skin, "Damn it!"

"Ha! You think that will hurt me? I'm made of metal you know! Mere taps won't do a thing." Metal punches Knuckles a few times and shoves him into a thorn bush.

"Knucklesཀ" Rouge runs to Knuckles, "Are you some kind of idiot?" Rouge helps Knuckles out of the thorn bush, his face bloody with scratches covering his body.

"Who are you to say that to me at a time like this?!" Knuckles snaps. Silence dominates the air around the two for a moment. "Sorry Rouge, didn't mean to snap at you like that..."

"It's not like I care if you did! Geez, what makes you think you have to apologize for doing something stupid, like you do all the time! What the hell are we talking like this for anyway?" Rouge snaps back, rushing back to Sonic, Amy, Tails, and Shadow.

"Metal, why are you doing this? What's your problem?" Shadow questions with disgust.

"I already told you. The information is not necessary for you to know. Besides, why would I tell you?" Metal tries to punch Shadow, but he dodges and performs a spin dash, scratching up Metal.

"You'll tell us because we told you to," Shadow growls.

"Yeahཀ" Tails shouts from next to Amy, who's addressing Sonic's wounds.

"You're next, fox boy," Metal rushes next to the yellow fox, attempting to punch him, but Tails flies up high, causing Metal to miss, "Damn you..."

"Haha! You missed! You missed!" Tails taunts, not paying close enough attention to the preparing Metal. Knuckles attempts to run to Tails, but his leg remains tangled in the thorn bush, painfully receiving gashes with each movement. Rouge returns to Knuckles, tugging on his as he wails, unable to free his leg. She stops her futile yanking and begins snapping the thorn vines hidden in the bush, although they rip with strong difficulty. Shadow, after helping Sonic and Amy aside, rushes to counter Metal, but he is already too late.

Metal leaps up and tackles Tails. The two fall to the ground with a_ thud_. When Tails's back meets the ground, a sharp rock digs harshly into his back, a loud, gasping screech pouring out his mouth. Metal starts punching Tails. Shadow reaches them and yanks Metal off Tails, hurtling Metal into a very thick tree trunk.

Tails lies on the ground, unconscious.

Sonic, with assistance from Amy, hurries over to Tails, "Tails?! Can you hear me? Tails?!" Tails does not respond. "Come on Tailsཀ You have to be okay! You're my best bud! Come on! Wake up!" Tails still does not respond. Sonic turns away, puts his face in his hands and mumbles, "Tails... no..."

Amy puts a hand on Sonic's shoulder, "He'll be okay. He's still breathing. We'll just have to take him home and clean him up. He'll wake up! You think our Tails just gives up so easily? Just look how hard he tried to handle Metal. He'll be fine once we get him home. Just have some faith." Sonic nods, although in his mind he just isn't sure if Tails is really going to be okay.

After he looks over Tails, Sonic gets up, his previous pain completely forgotten. His sadness starts to change, distorting into anger and rage. He looks to where Shadow has thrown Metal, but he's disappeared. Metal has run off. _I'll get you Metal. What the hell was that anyway? Regardless of your reason, you'll pay for what you did to my friends and I. Especially for what you did to Tails,_ he threatens.

"You better take Tails home now. He needs some serious cleaning up," Rouge says, Knuckles clutching around her shoulders, limping on his right leg. Shadow picks up Tails, being careful not to touch any of his bad wounds.

"I'm sorry I was of no use..." Knuckles mumbles, ashamed.

"Don't worry about it, Knuckles. What happened, happened," Amy answers for Sonic.

"Alright, lets go," Sonic says, nodding to Knuckles.

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Andrea regained consciousness when the commotion not far away began. She hears Sonic and the others only yards away, tears streaming down her face. She heard what happened, left in shock. _No, _she cries. _I left so that they wouldn't be put in danger, but leaving put them in more danger. Now I wish I never met them. They shouldn't have tried to find me. What are they? Are they stupid? What nosy idiots...stupid nice people. Now, because of me they got hurt, and poor Tails might... why Robotnik?__ཀ __Why?__ཀ_

Andrea's thoughts overflow her mind, leaving her to forget her current situation, her current pain. She thinks about what had happened a few months ago, what she has done, knowing that she has been hunted down. She just doesn't want anyone else involved in this, but now it's too late.

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They reach Sonic's house. Shadow places Tails on his bed

"Okay, lets clean him up. You don't want him getting infected," Amy says as she goes to retrieve towels and soap. She soon returns and hands the items to Sonic.

"Thanks, Amy," Sonic takes a towel and places it under Tails's head. He then grabs a wash cloth, gets up and hurries into the kitchen. Turning on the sink, he waits a minute for the water to warm up and then soaks the cloth in the water. Sonic then returns to Tails's side and places the warm, wet cloth on Tails's forehead.

Rouge fetches a wet cloth and starts cleaning Tails's wounds. She cleans up all the blood and puts medicated cream on each wound so it will heal faster.

Knuckles pulls up a chair and eases himself into it, carefully not pushing pressure onto his bad leg. Shadow takes a seat next to him, but gets up once he realizes Knuckles's situation, "Hold on a second." Shadow retrieves a wet cloth and some bandages to wrap Knuckles's leg. "Here, use these," he hands Knuckles a wet cloth to clean up the blood. Shadow shoves the bandages in Knuckles's hands to hold, "Rouge, let me borrow some of that cream."

"Ah, yeah, sure, here," she squeezes some cream into Shadow's hand before continuing tending to Tails, quietly mumbling, "How did I get stuck doing this?" Everyone ignores her selfish comment.

"Thanks," Shadow puts the cream on Knuckles, who cringes from the sting. "Don't be such a baby."

"Shut up. You get your leg stuck in a bush like that and we'll see your face after I lather this death cream all over your cuts," Knuckles sneers. He winces when Shadow rubs the cream in harder, purposefully putting a lot on the deeper gashes. "You little..."

Shadow smirks and snatches the bandages back from Knuckles, unraveling some, "I'll just wrap up your hold damn leg. You pretty much got a cut or gash on every inch from the knee down." Knuckles grunts as Shadow, smirking as he does so, begins to wrap Knuckles's leg.

"You need to turn Tails onto his stomach so that I can clean off his back," Rouge announces after a while of tending to his sores

"Okay," Sonic murmurs as he carefully turns Tails over.

Everyone gasps when they see the huge gash in Tails's back. An image flashes through Shadow's mind when he sees the gash. His eyes widen.

"Shadow? What's wrong?" Amy asks.

"The... the gash! It's because of a sharp rock. At least... it looked like a rock. Tails fell on it when Metal tackled him to the ground."

"Oh, no..." Amy worries. "At least we know what caused it."

"Yeah... now lets get a move on! We need to get Tails to a hospital for a gash like that!" Sonic says, hurrying everyone so that they can get to the hospital, before Tails's wound worsens.

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As Andrea is taken to Eggman's secret base, she stares blankly at the soiled ground, thinking.

Soon the robot takes her into a huge building. It seems like forever as she is brought up flight after flight of stairs. They finally reach Dr. Eggman's office and walk inside.

"Back so soon?" Eggman smirks, turning towards them. A smile spreads across his face when he sees Andrea.

At this point, the robot has removed it's hand from Andrea's mouth. She becomes irritated at the smile Eggman expresses, "What's that smile for you fat–"

"Woah, hold on there missy. Do I need to put a gag in your mouth? Or do I need to_ silence_ you?" Eggman's grin widens.

Andrea's anger rises, "Why you... who do you think you are? Messing around with _me_? I'm liable to tear you apartཀ Just like when I–"

Eggman frowns at Andrea's inability to listen. He cuts her off quickly by shoving a gag into her mouth. She immediately coughs and hacks at the feeling of the horrible tasting cloth. Eggman chuckles softly to himself as he instructs the robot to put Andrea in one of the cells.

Andrea tries to yell, but all that comes out were low moaning sounds, muffled by the gag. She sighs and starts to think again, _I have to get out of here. I must think of something quick. I need to make sure Sonic, Shadow, and the others are okay as well. I just hope I can at least get out to check on them...but there's no telling what he's going to do to me...not after what I did._


	5. Chapter Five: Meeting

**A/N: I've added and changed a lot of the wording of this story, so for anyone who may have read this before, I hope it's alright. I had also changed the species of my original characters...sorry about that, too, but I did it because I have thought of a bit more of a background to this whole thing. Maybe it will be at least a little more interesting. I just hope it's not too horrible. ;**

**Chapter 5: Meeting**

Nurses rush back and forth, grabbing the wheeling stretcher, clutching information clipboards with their black ink pens, hollering desperately, "Emergency, Doctor! Immediate surgery!" While dodging other, more calm and conscious patients, the surgeon glides Tails's stretcher through the dreaded swinging doors, a blood red blinking light pulsing overhead.

"Oh, I hope he'll be alright..." Sonic says, resting his chin on his hand, settling into one of the uncomfortable, stiff waiting room chairs.

"Yea, we all do," Amy says gently.

Shadow sits in the corner, gazing outside one of the rooms enormous glass windows, thinking,_ I wonder what that lemur is up to. Why would she run like that? I wonder where she is. Wait...Why should I care? Why should I...?_

Knuckles nestles into the opposite corner of Shadow, staring at the floor. _This is Andrea's fault. If she hadn't gone away, we wouldn't have been looking for her, and if we weren't looking for her, then we wouldn't be here..._Knuckles broods.

Amy sits down next to Sonic, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "He'll be okay, don't worry so much about it. I'm sure Tails will be just fine. He will heal, emerge all apologetic, full of energy, and we'll go back to normal."

Sonic looks up, "I hope you're right, Amy. I sure do hope you are right."

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The robot drags Andrea to a cell already holding an occupant. The robot removes the gag from her mouth and shoves her in the cell. He locks the padlock, then walks away in a clanking fashion, echoing his stride through the hushed, bricked halls.

Andrea turns towards the cell's other occupant. She studies him. Obviously male, considering his slightly huskier build, a smoky gray and white lemur, with deep ebony surrounding his eyes, darker than any other fur on his body. He wears a tattered black vest and shorts, both nearly blending in with the colors of his fur. A black glove occupies each hand, torn in some parts, probably from struggling after being captured. His sullied, once-white shoes look tattered and worn as well. She cannot assess his height, since he is siting down. His fur looks matted and dirty with dried blood, most likely not solely his own. A thin scar embeds two inches across his forehead in a slant; another, thicker mark resides across his lower neck in the front. As he stares at the floor, Andrea can barely see the pain and exhaustion in his face, even with his oddly long bangs dangling in front of his face. The rest of his milky hair wisps forward slightly, similar to the bangs, due to his hanging head. It isn't very long in the back, but it appears straggly and messy, especially noticeable because of its pasty white coloration. _Poor guy,_ Andrea empathizes.

The normal lemur, unlike Andrea's species, looks up at the green lemur, locking eyes with her. Andrea turns away, for she suddenly feels nervous and awkward with unknown reason.

The smoky white animal stands and takes a step forward. He puts out his hand unexpectedly, "Hello, I am Akio. And you are?"

"Oh...um...Andrea. My name is Andrea," Andrea reaches out and grabs Akio's hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Andrea."

"Yea, same here."

"Say, Andrea? Why are you in here?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Andrea replies sternly, leaving no room for discussion. "Why are you in here, if I may ask?"

"Okay. Well, I had one day came by this village and decided to stop by, considering I needed some traveling supplies – I was heading for my hometown. I came across this place and went to the back to check it out, just being nosy I guess. Well, I wish I hadn't. I heard someone talking, not meaning to eavesdrop, but I overheard the conversation. I was shocked to hear of this guy's plans. I heard that he was trying to track someone down and catch them. He said that he hoped to torture and kill that someone shortly after he caught them. I had started to run away, but it was too late; the guy, Robotnik, caught me. He realized that I had heard him, or at least one of his robot companions did. He told his robots to kill me, but I defeated them miraculously, though I got massively hurt in the process. Robotnik decided, instead of killing me, he'd lock me up here, just for kicks. Just until he thinks otherwise, I assume. I've been here ever since. Every once in a while he sends a robot or two to torture me, give him some enjoyment, but I've managed to live. I'd try to get out, but I'm too wounded to try to escape and there's no telling what kind of traps he has set up to stop me from getting away," Akio returns to his cot and puts his face in his hands, sighing.

Andrea stands, stunned. She tries to speak, fighting her vocal cords, but her voice refuses to comply.

After a couple minutes of silence, Andrea finally wins the argument, "Wow, I can't believe it. You're in here all because you overheard a stupid conversation. I...I just-"

"Don't feel bad for me. It's my fault entirely. I had to be nosy and listen in. I had to go back there. I had to go into the village..." Andrea saw a tear drop from Akio's face.

"It's not your fault. You...you couldn't of known...How could you of if you haven't been there before? Besides, it's not like you knew someone would be there. You didn't meant to hear," Andrea tries her best to cheer up this stranger, which feels odd because she never tries to cheer anyone up anymore.

"Yes I could have. I was too curious. And they say 'curiosity killed the cat' and it's going to kill this stupid lemur soon enough."

Clenching her fists, Andrea takes an angered step towards Akio, leaning into a defiant pose, "Now listen, you. You shouldn't put yourself down about this. You haven't done wrong. I'm sure God will help you out of this. Just have faith. You can't be sure that you're going to die here. Me, on the other hand, will die here. There isn't a God who would help a person like me. I've been running far too long now. I just can't bare it any longer. I just have to..."

"Enough! I don't care what you say! I deserve to die! No one will save me. NO ONE! Now just leave me be! Just leave me alone..." Akio lies on the cot on his stomach, face hidden in a small pillow. His body reveals a slight shuddering – he's crying.

Andrea adheres to his request. She walks to the other side of the cell, and sits on a cot, which is now considered hers. She lies down on her back, gazing at the ceiling. She ponders the conversation she just had with Akio only a few moments ago. "Maybe I can help him. Help him escape. Help him be free again. Even if he is just a stranger, he got into this predicament because he overheard a conversation most likely about me. If I never committed those actions, there wouldn't have been anything to overhear. It's the least I can do. And maybe...just maybe...I can be free too," Andrea whispers softly to herself. Soon after, Andrea drifts off to sleep, anticipating a hopeful escape.

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A nurse comes out of the emergency room and approaches Sonic and the others, "Hello, I am Nurse Elli. Are you friends of Miles?"

"Yes, we are friends of Miles." Sonic replies, feeling a little happy about hearing some information.

"Okay. Well, the procedure went well. He is stabilized and should wake up in a little while once the anesthetic wears off. There is one problem, however, Miles has suffered some bad back damage. He might be slightly paralyzed." Everyone's eyes widen. "He will have to be in a wheelchair for some time. Sorry to tell you this, but he may or may not recover. He'll have to come back each week for a check on how's he's doing. He'll have to go through physical therapy every other day for a while in order to keep his muscles from weakening and his joints from becoming stiff. After a few visits we'll be able to determine whether or not Miles will be able to walk again." Then Nurse Elli bows slightly, in sympathy and walks away, back into the emergency room.

The nurse stole their voices.

After a few minutes, Amy breaks the silence, "It's alright. Soon Tails will be back to his normal self. The physical therapy will help him a lot"

"But...but what if he'll be paralyzed for the rest of his life? What then? He won't ever be able to walk along the shore, or fly around my head ever again..."

Shadow turns away from the window and faces Sonic, "Sonic, I'm sure Tails will end up fine. He may be young and small, but he isn't weak."

"But what will he say when he finds out he's _paralyzed? _What, huh? What?!"

Knuckles looks up and moves to Sonic, "Calm downཀ Do you want to be thrown out of here? I think not. Just try to think positive, okay? Tails is still young, so it should be easier for him to heal! Have a little more respect toward the kid, he wouldn't like it if he knew how much you're underestimating him."

"Yeah Sonic. Just keep telling yourself that Tails will be okay." Rouge insists, surprisingly trying to cheer him up.

Sonic lets out a sigh, "I guess so...but I just don't want to see him like this...I know he's going to be very hurt, regardless of his strong mind, both outside and inside."


	6. Chapter Six: Pain

**Chapter 6: Pain**

Andrea bolts upright in her cot, sweaty and shivering. The nightmare still plagues her mind, the images pulsing. The scenes replaying, reproducing the night she ran away:

_About a year previously..._

"_Let me be free, Eggman__I beg of you to let me go__Let all of us go!" Andrea screams at the bald, fat man formally known as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, otherwise nicknamed Eggman._

"_Why should I let you be free? You're entire clan have been of good use-"_

_Andrea snorts, "Oh, yeah, much good use, if you call dying a great help to-" _

"_Silence! They did their bidding, with no further use it's much easier to deal with that way. You're lucky you're still alive. How sad, yet interesting to be the last of your kind. As I was saying, you're been so good to Claire and I." Eggman grins, and the chair next to his slowly swivels. A young woman rotates into view, smirking. As she spins, her long blond hair flows with her, moving into the way of her cold, scarlet eyes. Her red dress sparkling in the light fits her perfect figure well, defining her every curve, reaching down to barely touch her knees. Her long legs are crossed with her hands resting graciously in her lap. She taps her foot, emitting a loud clack because of her hard, cherry high-heeled shoes. Claire glares at Andrea with disgust, "Yes, Andrea. You have helped us, not that it was your choice. So we owe nothing to you." Claire cackles and stands up. She prances to Eggman's chair and sits in his lap, placing her arms around his neck._

_Eggman's grin widens as he kisses Claire on the cheek. Andrea turns at this sight, visibly disturbed, and spits to show her disgust._

"_Metal__!"_

"_Yes, sir?" Metal replies hurrying into the room._

"_Will you please take_ Ms. _Andrea to her _room?" _he stresses room as if to imply that it's meant to be some torture chamber._

_Andrea grows angry, entering a state of rage, _"No!" _Metal grabs Andrea, but she breaks out of his grasp, sending him flying into a wall, immobilized, and sprints to where Eggman and Claire sit._

"_Back away from us you stupid freak__!" __Claire shouts to Andrea, but Andrea pays no attention to Claire's threat. Andrea's anger boils. _

"_Do as I tell you__Back off_ now_!" __Claire screeches._

_Eggman, eyes wide, mouth agape, fumbles for the button – his protection – in order to call the other robots in the building; however, he cannot locate it._

_Andrea notices the fear in Claire's eyes. _Good you should be afraid _Andrea laughs. _

"_What are you laughing for? Come on you rude, stupid, and most of all irritating lemur, _back off_!" Claire's voice sounds hoarse from screaming._

_Andrea smiles wickedly, animosity filling her mind, "Hey, Claire. You know what? You're right maybe I should back off."_

"_Y...Yes, you should. If you say I'm right then b...back off__," __Claire stutters, revealing her distress._

_Andrea smiles wider, "You know what? I just changed my mind__!" __Andrea runs and tackles Claire, they both fall to the floor._

"_Claire__!" __Eggman shouts as he tries to get up from his chair, abandoning the button plan. He spins around to see Andrea holds Claire pinned to the floor, but Andrea glares, scowling straight at Eggman. He can see the malice burning in her eyes. Andrea's eyes appear wild, her normally bright, azure eyes are darkened, clouded, as if she is not her normal self – nearly possessed. Eggman's fear peaks. He takes a step backward._

"_Don't you go anywhere!__" __Eggman freezes. "You're going to be next__!" __Andrea grins and turns back to Claire, who is desperately struggling, but proves too weak. _

_Claire is trembling, "P...please Andrea! Be r...reasonable! We can w...work this out!"_

"_Work what out, huh? I've tried to work things out, but have you ever listened? All you ever did was hurt my family along with myself. Did you ever really_ need _us, or did you just like to see us suffer? I think it was the latter. This is you're fault, Claire. Yours and Eggman's. You picked a really_ great _guy, Claire. You can thank _him_ for this unpleasant act!" __A groan escapes Andrea's throat and an inner glow emerges from her eyes, turning them blood red, "Say goodbye to your sweetheart, Eggman__!" __Andrea's snickers distort into insane laughter. A strange blue glow enshrouds Andrea, soon focusing into her hands, which press harshly onto the frantic woman's chest. Claire starts screeching to Eggman, but her bloodcurdling shriek cuts herself off as acid pours from the pores of Andrea's hands into Claire's body, burning her body from the inside out. Soon, only small traces of flesh and her skeleton remain of Claire, those parts left undissolved. _

_Eggman stands, gaping, in shock, having seen the whole thing. After recollecting himself, Eggman whispers quietly to himself, "I'll get you Andrea, for killing my one and only love. I shall not rest until I know you're dead." Then he runs off to the exit, so he won't be killed too._

_Andrea stands and turns to see Eggman running. He is already, surprisingly, about fifty feet ahead of her. She can catch up easily, but she decides not to – too risky. Unknown to Eggman, the exhausted green lemur drops to her knees, clutching her stomach, "I never knew. Is this why Eggman wanted our clan?" Never before has Andrea ever known or used such disturbing power; she has only known of one in her clan who held any kind of power – the ability to see the near future. That person was her grandfather, and Eggman murdered him once he could no longer use his power. " What did I even...?" Andrea winces, her stomach churning to create new acid quickly, refilling the loss. _I can't believe this. I'm not a murderer. I'm not like them. I was merely avenging. Yes. I don't want to kill, but it's Eggman. I have time to sort this out. I can't go after him in this condition anyway_, Andrea contemplates, completely confused with herself and her actions. She has killed one of the two that has tortured and hurt her and her clan for many years. Now she can leave, but she has to find a place that Eggman can't find her, _And where is that?

_Andrea returns to her isolated room in Eggman's recently deserted headquarters, gathers some supplies, and steals some of Eggman's money. She puts these things in a small backpack she once hid under a board in her room. She hurries out of the building, the whole town, searching for a better, and safe, home._

Andrea sees Eggman, or at least the robot guards, has put out some food for her and Akio. Akio remains asleep, so she doesn't bother asking him if he wants food. Andrea splits the food in half, saving some for Akio.

After Andrea is done eating, she sits and waits for Akio to wake up, trying to block out her most recent dream.

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After about a half an hour, another person materializes from the back rooms and walks to Sonic, "Hello, I am Dr. Don. I am Miles's doctor for today. I came out to tell you that you can come with me to see him." Dr. Don motions everyone to follow him, gesturing to keep quiet. Dr. Don leads them to Tails's room and lets them inside, "I'll be back in a few minutes to check on you." Dr. Don leaves the room, lightly closing the door behind him.

"Tails? Buddy, can you hear me?" Sonic says patting Tails's hand lightly.

Tails's eyes open slowly, "Sonic? That you?"

Sonic smiles, "Yes, it's me. How are ya feeling?"

"Alright, I guess...everything kind of aches."

"Oh Tails! I'm glad you're okay!" Amy says – gasping slightly at her own loud mouth – to Tails, and she gently pats him on the head, slightly embarrassed by her loud outburst.

"Glad you're back with us Tails," Knuckles says.

"It's good that you're better now, fox boy," Rouge smirks.

"I'm glad to see you doing alright, Tails..." Shadow mutters.

Tails tries to sit up, but he doesn't even move – still too weak, "I can't wait to leave here. I want to get some fresh air."

"Yeah..." Sonic sighs.

A tall woman walks into the room, "Hello, everyone. Okay, Miles. You will be released today. Your friends will have to take you home. We'll get your wheelchair ready." Then she leaves, just as quickly as she entered.

Tails blinks, "Wheelchair? What wheelchair? I need a wheelchair?"

"Um, Tails? I'm sorry to tell you this..." Amy takes a deep breath, "...there isn't really an easy way to tell you this, but- "

Impatient, Rouge drops the news on Tails, "You are paralyzed." Knuckles shoots her a dirty look; she shrugs.

Tails's jaw drops. He couldn't, wouldn't believe it. He tries to move his legs, but no success. He tries again, but still, nothing. He is paralyzed from the waist down. Tails starts to cry.

Sonic puts his hand over Tails's and pats it gently again, "Please don't cry Tails. I hate to see you cry. You rarely ever cry. Come on. We'll get through this. You're a big man. The nurse said that you have a good chance of reviving. Just please don't cry," Sonic tries the best he can to calm Tails down. The others just watch. Tears well up in Sonic's eyes, but he chokes them back, as he tries to help Tails stop crying.

A tear slides down Amy's cheek; she hates to see the poor small fox cry. She hasn't seen him cry like this for a very long time. She hopes he never will have to. Rouge tries to reassure Amy that Tails would be okay, except with her sarcastic attitude, she isn't much help. Knuckles leans against Tails's bed post, watching. Shadow leans on the wall next to Tails's bed, rolling his eyes slightly, sighing sadly.

By the time the nurse comes in with the wheelchair, Tails has stopped crying, but his eyes are still red and puffy. Sonic carries Tails and puts him in the wheelchair – an electronic one, but it can also be pushed, in case of malfunction. Sonic pushes Tails out of the hospital, and so Sonic, who is pushing Tails, Amy, Rouge, Shadow, and Knuckles all walk back to Sonic's house, which is luckily not too long a distance.

_Why did I have to be paralyzed? Why me? What did I ever do to deserve this? Stupid Metal Sonic. Darn Eggman. It's all their fault,_ Tails sniffles to himself as they return home. _It hurts._


	7. Chapter Seven: Quarreling

**A/N: Sorry for taking so long. The chapters may be a bit apart in time, for those who actually read this boring story. . ; Whether it's boring or not, I like writing it, so oh well. Anyway, this one's a bit short, since it focuses on one side. The next will focus on the other, so it might be a bit short, too. Don't know when that will be put up, so, enjoy this one at least. Just so you know, for any who have read it before, I've said it before and I'll say it again, this is being revised big time from before. The base story is the same, but I'm changing things around, also trying to make it a bit less sappy and rushed (considering my characters would be nearly in love by this point, unrealistically...and I have fun making them fight...I'm saying too much). Well, anyway, sorry for this rant. Continue on, please.**

**Chapter 7: Quarreling**

Stretching and yawning, Akio sits up and spins on his cot, resting his feet on the floor. He rubs his eyes before noticing Andrea staring at him. Andrea points to the food and Akio nods silently; he retrieves the food and eats. He politely offers Andrea a piece, "No thanks, I already ate my half," she replies quietly. Akio shrugs.

Andrea notices he still won't talk to her -- a depressing realization. She decides to try and pry a few words out of the guy, "So, Akio. How long have you been down here?"

Akio turns and shrugs again, flaunting his obvious irritation with her.

"Come on now, I know that you know how long it's been. So, tell me."

Akio replies with a raspy sigh.

"Fine, whatever. I was just asking a question," Andrea lies down on her cot with her back to Akio.

With his brow furrowed and his mouth scrunched in a pout, Akio turns and studies Andrea. He secretly admits, she is very pretty. _I've never seen a green lemur before. Half of my hometown is lemurs, but I've never seen her kind. It's such a pretty pale green. She looks like she's been hurt, though, _he analyzes. She is tall and rather thin, nearly too thin from lack of nutrition; she isn't fully stretched out, however, so Akio can't officially tell. At the moment, Andrea wears a black, sleeveless, one-piece suit, a gift from Rouge, and it's nearly skintight – her distinguished figure emphasized. Her hair lies sprawled over the pillow where her head rests. Akio wants to see her face, _I'll have to pay more attention the next time she talks to me. Wait, what am I thinking?! I've just been in here too long. _ Akio, surprised, notices Andrea rise to turn around, so he quickly pivots and looks away.

Andrea sits up. She cannot manage to get comfortable; her dream continues to plague her mind.

Akio detects something is bothering Andrea, but even though he wants to say something to her, the words clump in his throat. Opening and closing his mouth like a fish proves useless. _I wonder what's wrong? Well I guess being in here would bother any person, but she just looks so troubled, scared even. Regardless of whether I'm angry or not, I just can't help it when someone's upset. Darn voice, _Akio thinks, getting frustrated. _Way to make me feel guilty, too,_ Akio regrets not answering Andrea's question earlier.

After a few minutes of battling his own brain, Akio shovels out his voice, "Um, Andrea? I-I'm sorry I yelled at you like that last night."

"Really? Or are you just messing with me?"

"No, I mean it. I'm sorry. It was rude of me to take my own problems out on you when you were only trying to help."

Andrea sighs, "It's alright. I forgive you..." Andrea's voice trails off, returning to deep thought.

"Are you okay?" Akio asks, concerned.

"Huh? I'm fine," Andrea tries to grin, but merely manages an obviously fake smile.

"I think your hiding something. Why won't you tell me?"

"I-I can't. I'm sorry, but I just can't."

Akio exhales an irritated sigh, "I don't think it's because you_can't,_ it's just because you _won't_..." Akio lies down on his cot, resting on his stomach.

A single tear runs down Andrea's cheek, as she also lies down on her stomach. She wants to tell Akio about what happened, but she's still hesitant to trust. She feels uncomfortable telling people about her past. That's why she has never told anyone. Although, maybe telling someone would make her feel better. Maybe it'd release some anger and pressure that's been rattling in its cage. Andrea ponders for a while.

_Why won't she tell me?_ Akio broods. _I'm trying to get her to trust me, but I just want to know what's wrong. Maybe I could help cheer her up if she'd let me..._Akio thinks for a while on his own as well.

After fifteen minutes of silence pass, Andrea mumbles, "Akio. Do you really want to know about what's been bothering me?"

Akio nodded, "Of course I do."

"Are you absolutely sure? Why do you care?"

Akio was growing impatient, "Honestly, I don't know why I care, but I don't like when people are upset or bottle up emotions. It's sort of a hypocritical notion of mine, so what? So yes, I'm sure!"

Andrea looks at him quizzically, "How strange. But okay..." Andrea explains about the dream she had the previous night, her past, "...and then I knew I had to leave. I had to make sure that Dr. Eggman would never find me, but I must've done something wrong because now I've ended up here." When she finishes talking, she rolls over on her cot, facing the wall with her legs crossed Indian-style.

Akio remains astonished. He can hardly believe her story, "That's just awful. I'm-"

Andrea spins her head around to look at him, "Don't you dare say you're sorry. Yes it was awful, and it still haunts my dreams, as it should. You happy?" Tears swell in Andrea's eyes. She knows that either way the anger will leak out somehow. She refuses to let it. Being angry frightens her. When she loses herself to rage, her powers increase. Just like before. Andrea can't always control her fury, and it resulted in horror.

"In one way, yes, that you finally let it out."

"Oh, well, I'm happy for you."

"But what do you mean when you say is should still haunt your dreams?"

"What else can that mean?"

"Are you saying you think you should be punished?"

"Of course! I'm a murderer!" Andrea screams in dismay.

Akio jumps up from his cot, "No you aren't! You were acting in self defense!"

Andrea joins Akio in the center of the cell, shoving her face only a foot from his, "Self defense it a spur of the moment occurrence when absolutely necessary because someone was actually _attacking_ you! Each time I look back I see that I was only talking with them and then I went into a blinding rage and murdered Claire and attempted to murder Eggman as well! That's homicide, not defense!"

"You think what they did to you and your family wasn't an attack?!"

"It was torture! Being tortured and beaten doesn't justify killing another!" Andrea feels her face's temperature continuously rising – hotter and hotter.

Their argument continues for close to a half an hour, shooting down each other's reasoning. Steam literally fumes from their faces – the freezing cold air of the cells meeting their boiling cheeks.

Akio ends the fight by grabbing hold of Andrea's head, his face inches from hers, and growls, "Stop wallowing in self-pity and hate." He shoves her hard; she stumbles backward, although landing safely on her cot, startled. Akio spins, leaving his back to her, and climbs into his cot, "It's disgusting."


	8. Chapter Eight: Realization

**Chapter 8: Realization**

Sonic retrieves his house key and unlocks the door; he invites everyone in after pushing Tails into the room, leaving him next to the couch in case he wants to watch television.

"Sorry, but I have to get home. I have to, ugh, fix up my house tonight because I have to have a business meeting there tomorrow, so I'll see you all later!" Rouge hurries out the door.

"Yeah, I better get back to the master emerald. I don't want to be away from it for too long," Knuckles jogs off, too.

"Okay then. It's just Amy, Shadow, Tails, and me."

Shadow turns to Sonic, "Hey. Is it okay for me to-"

Sonic interrupts, grinning, "To stay? Of course. I'm already accommodating two, three isn't a far step."

"After all that I've done, you're still smiling. You grin too much. Faker"

"Smiling at someone who helped save the world is pretty natural I would think. And as for smiling, all mine are genuine, thank you. You just smile too little. Either that, or you smirk too often."

"Oh shut your-"

"Quit it!" Amy pushes Sonic.

"Why did you push _me_?" the frowning blue hedgehog glares at Amy.

Ignoring Sonic's whine, Amy turns to Shadow, "Forget about him and his extreme optimism, he-"

"You're one to talk about optimism!" Sonic shouts.

"Shut up. Anyway, he-"

Shadow raises his hands, "Ah, it's okay. I don't really care about-"

"Yeah, you don't care about much other than Mari-"

"SHUT UP, SONIC!" Amy yells, "Stop cutting people off!"

"I only did it one other time!"

"No, twice, and that's more than enough!"

Shadow sighs quietly, "Forget it. Thank you for letting me stay. I'm going to rest. Which room should I stay in?"

Panting, Amy turns to Shadow, who nearly laughs at the sight of both Sonic and Amy's faces, strangely surprising himself. The exasperated pink hedgehog runs a hand down her face to wipe off a bit of sweat and straightens her stance, "Sorry. You can just stay in the one you and Andrea stayed in before. No one else uses it. You're free to stay as long as you want."

"Alright. Thank you," Shadow flashes his hand in the air, a short wave goodnight, and heads down the hall.

"Hey, who said you get to decide things about my house?" Sonic questions.

"You would have said the same thing wouldn't you?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not-"

"That's exactly the point. You just need to—wait, where's Tails?" Amy glances around the room.

"Oh! We brought him in, but he can't move the chair himself already can he?" Sonic panics.

"Tails is very capable. Besides, the nurse said he is okay otherwise, so his arms should be alright."

"Yeah, but still. He didn't even say anything. Usually he would at least tell us he's going to a different-" A faint cry cuts off Sonic's worries. "What was that?" Another cry sends Sonic sprinting to the bathroom; Amy quickly follows.

Sonic skids across the tile, nearly sending himself out the small window, curtains and all. He whirls to face Tails. Sitting in his wheelchair, the vulnerable fox cowers with his chin to his chest and his hands squeezing his legs; tears drip into his lap. Sonic, struck by an overpowering grief, glances at Amy and motions for her to leave. She nods sullenly and silently walks away.

Sonic returns his attention to Tails, who still hasn't acknowledged his best friend's existence. He crouches down and gently lifts Tails's head, revealing his watery, reddening eyes with streams gushing down his cheeks. The overflowing liquid masks the usual glow in his sapphire eyes, making them appear distant and withdrawn—Sonic is invisible.

With tears forming in his eyes, Sonic worries, "Hey, Tails?" Anxiety writhes up Sonic's spine, flooding shudders down his body. Moving his shaking hands from Tails's face to his shoulders, Sonic gently shakes the haunted fox. Relief cascades onto Sonic when Tails blinks repeatedly and responds with a moan. The worried hedgehog looks into Tails's face once more, "Are you alright?"

Confused by Sonic's presence, Tails blinks quizzically, "Sonic?"

"Yes, I'm here. You called, so I came. Do you need some help, buddy?"

Tails peers around the room, trying to remember his reason for entering, "That's right, I did call you."

"Are you alright?" Sonic concernedly asks again.

Tails's face distorts into an odd mix of disorientation and speculation, as if answering a million dollar question. After a moment of deep thought, Tails's expression dives into a river—sobs jump from his throat.

Surprised by the sudden wailing, Sonic loses his crouching balance and stumbles backward onto his back. After recovering, he's thrown into dismay. He looks Tails in the face, trying to talk his tears down while stroking him on the head with one hand and holding his hand with the other. Speaking softly, Sonic gently coaxes, "Tails, calm down, it's alright. I'll help you. You wanted to use the bathroom, right? That's why you're in here isn't it? Don't worry, it's okay. I'm here." Only when something strikes his own arm does Sonic realize he started crying himself. "Please, Tails," he continues, "Please calm down."

A few minutes pass before the fox's weeping subsides. Sonic delicately wipes the tears away from Tails's puffy eyes, "Do you want me to help you now?"

Tails nods and speaks in a whisper, "Yes, please. Thank you, Sonic."

"It's no problem, buddy," Sonic smiles sweetly, putting one of Tails's arms around his neck. After wrapping one arm around Tails's back and the other around his knees, Sonic carefully lifts Tails out of his wheelchair and carries him a few steps to the toilet. Turning around, Sonic declares, "Alright then. I'll walk out for now. I'll just stand outside the door, call me when you need me again, alright?"

Trying not to start sobbing again, Tails forces a smile and squeaks, "Yeah, alright, thanks." Sonic then does as he promised, closing the door behind him.

Tails looks down at the floor; a few more droplets fall from his face.


	9. Chapter Nine: Bickering

**Chapter 9: Bickering**

After leaving Sonic's house, Knuckles asks Rouge if he can talk with her for a few minutes.

"Well, I guess so, but let's walk and talk. I don't want to waste too much time. I have a lot to do before I go to bed tonight," Rouge rudely replies.

Knuckles grunts, irritated, "Well, anyway, I wanted to ask what you thought about that lemur, um, what was her name? Angela? Aubrey?"

"Andrea, Mr. Know-it-all," Rouge snorts.

Knuckles ignores her taunt, "Oh, yeah, Andrea. Anyway, her."

"What's there to think about? I guess pity is all I thought, right? She was beat up pretty badly. Something must have happened because she hurried out of Sonic's place pretty quickly."

"Isn't that strange?"

"Well, maybe she just felt uncomfortable in a strangers house! You're analyzing this way too much."

"Then why do you think Metal attacked us?" Knuckles barks.

"What does that have to do with her?" Rouge yells.

"I don't know yet! I just think it does. She just seems-"

Rouge crosses her arms, "You're doing it again. You always think you know everything don't you?"

"And you always make false accusations. I bet you even frame others when you steal."

"Don't bring my hobby into this."

"A hobby you call it. Anyway, I really think I'm right about this."

"You say that about a lot of things," Rouge complains.

"Would you just think about it? We go searching for her in the woods, the last place she could be nearby, and Metal just so happens to be in the woods doing something he wasn't 'authorized' to say?"

"Well, that is strange, but-"

"See? You think so too, don't you? I want to find out. I wanted to ask if you want to help me, but seeing as how you don't even believe me..."

"Do you want me to help you that badly, hm? I do find it strange, but we don't even know that girl."

"That's my point, and don't imply something like that," Knuckles sticks out his tongue in disgust.

"Whatever. I'll help you out. What are you planning to do, smart guy?"

"Well, I thought we should talk this over with the others, but I don't think Sonic and Amy should go because they need to take care of Tails."

"What about Shadow?" Rouge points out.

"He might help us. He seemed kind of curious about her, especially since he was the one to find out she fled. We can head over tomorrow to ask him about it?"

"But I have that meeting tomorrow," Rouge sighs.

"Can't you do anything about that?" Knuckles asks.

"I can't! I tried a few days ago for them not to even have the meeting, but they turned me down saying it's a very important government meeting so they want to meet in an unusual place for them. They've never met at my house before and my records don't show my address, so they really want to use my place."

"The way you talk sounds as if they are only there for the _place_. Do you _have_ to be there?"

"I'm not sure, but leaving strangers in my house with all my jewels...my_stolen_ jewels..." Rouge worries.

"You're worrying about your stolen jewels getting stolen? How ironic is that?"  
"Shut up."

"Anyway, just put them in a safe place! Come on, you're a spy! You're good at getting information, so I need your help," Knuckles insists.

"Wow, why are you so desperate? You even complimented me!"

"Shut up, bat girl! Something about this is just bothering me! Especially if it's the reason behind Tails getting hurt, even if it's indirectly her fault, it still happened while we were looking for her! That, and maybe we can find Metal Sonic to get revenge."

"Doing that won't make poor Tails better," Rouge shakes her finger.

Feeling more irritated by the second, Knuckles clenches a fist and punches, stopping inches before striking Rouge's shocked expression, "I'm getting sick of your sarcastic attitude. If you're going to help, just nod and say you'll meet me in front of your house tomorrow. If you're too scared to leave your precious treasure, then say so and I'll leave you to your lovely gems."

Taking a few steps back, Rouge closes her agape mouth and frowns, "Getting a little hotheaded aren't you?" Knuckles prepares to knock her over. "Okay, okay, stop throwing a temper tantrum. I'll help you. Tomorrow morning sound alright? I'll just leave a note on the door for the crew. They'll understand me not being there as long as they can still use the place." Rouge turns around and continues walking, withholding the urge to kick Knuckles into the ground, "We're almost at my house, so you can go now before I lose my mind."

"Before_you_ lose your mind?!" Knuckles roars. "Alright, I'm leaving. I'll be here in the morning. Please leave that attitude of yours at home tomorrow."

"As long as you do the same," Rouge comments smugly.

Knuckles ignores her, walking away to return to Angel Island.

Rouge stares after him until night's veil covers the red echidna.

----------------------------------------------------

A terrifying shriek wrenches Akio out of his dream world, throwing him on the ground from his cot. Standing up rubbing his neck, Akio blinks in the darkness until he sees the source of the fright.

Andrea sits upright in her cot, sweat pouring from her body, soaking her one-piece suit and fur. An audible panting echoes in the small cell, accompanied by whines and snarls.

Petrified, Akio composes himself and slides cautiously over to Andrea, who's eyes appear to be bulging in fright. The closer study shows her uncontrollable shivering. He kneels beside her cot, "Hey, Andrea? Are you alright?"

In response, Andrea's eye close, but her head shifts to face Akio, as if she would be looking at him. Her expression, eyes squeezed shut, hardens into a fierce anger brought on by fear. Before Akio can even back away, Andrea flails, screaming, and bashes the baffled gray lemur in the side of his head, pegging him to the cement floor.

Before his consciousness flees from his sight, Akio manages to leak, "Are you still asleep?"

_----------------------------------------------------_

Shadow stretches, yawning. He sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes. He catches a glimpse of the clock—7:13. _Man, Why am I up so early? _he wonders to himself as he climbs out of bed and trots down the hall. _Hm, looks like no one else is up yet. I kind of figured that since it's still early. _Shadow plops down on the couch and flips on the television.

Instead of paying attention to the morning news, Shadow dwells on yesterday's events. _I wonder if Andrea's okay. Where did she go? I want to find her, but I don't__want to look for her alone. I wonder if Knuckles would go with me?_ Shadow sighs and starts aimlessly flipping through the channels.

A sudden knock on the door startles Shadow to his feet. Surprisingly, he opens the front door to see Knuckles and Rouge peering inside at him. He mumbles quietly to himself,_How strange is that?_ Motioning them inside, Shadow asks, "What are you two here for?"

"We're here to ask for help. We curious to know what happened to Andrea. Will you come with us to Eggman's base?" Rouge explains.

Shadow's eyes lit up, but controls his voice, "I guess I'll come, but let me leave a note for Sonic." Shadow grabs a piece of paper and a pen; he writes the note:

_Sonic, Tails, and Amy,_

_I'm going with Rouge and Knuckles to find Andrea. Knuckles wants me to leave this walkie talkie with you and we'll have the other just in case we need you or you need us for something, okay? You guys stay home to keep each other company. We'll be back soon and maybe we'll have Andrea with us, too. Don't go anywhere and be on stand by._

_Shadow_

Shadow places the note on the television. Shadow turns to Knuckles and Rouge, "Alright. I'm ready to go."  
Knuckles spins around to leave, "Alright then. Lets get a move on!"

Rouge lags behind him, walking next to Shadow. She subtly leans towards Shadow and whispers, "Be careful of this lunatic. As easygoing as he seems right now, he'll snap on you in a second."

Bewildered, Shadow looks at her strangely, "What? Why all of a-"

Knuckles's ears perk and he whirls around, "Hey, I heard that! Are you still dwelling on yesterday?"

"Of course not. I'm just stating a fact of life," Rouge insists slyly.

Dumbfounded, Shadow stares at Knuckles and Rouge throw shots at each other. Stepping in between them, he holds his hands up, "Would you shut up? You're forgetting what we're doing."

Knuckles and Rouge glance at eat other and sigh.

"Sorry, Shadow," Knuckles apologizes and continues walking.

"No apology for-" Rouge starts, but Shadow puts a hand over her mouth.

"You need to learn to keep that thing bolted shut," Shadow hisses coldly. He then hurries to walk next to Knuckles and motion—without looking—Rouge to hurry and catch up.

_That's two days in a row I've been sassed like that_, Rouge broods to herself. _Bolt my mouth shut, eh? I don't even know the meaning of that phrase...although I guess in my case, maybe I should, huh?_

After making sure Rouge is still following, Shadow peeks over at Knuckles, who's face appears completely flushed. "Hey," Shadow mutters to the overly red-faced echidna, "What the hell are you blushing for?"

Surprised, Knuckles shouts, "I'M NOT!"

Rouge's eyes widen for a moment. When she opens her mouth to speak, Shadow immediately turns to glare at her, instantly stopping her incoming remark.

Realizing the strength of his bellow, Knuckles's hand snaps over his mouth before lowering his volume, audible to only Shadow, "I am not. I'm just really angry is all."

"But you don't look angry," Shadow quietly analyzes.

"What does it matter to you?" Knuckles snaps.

"It doesn't."

"Then don't ask," Knuckles growls. Shadow rolls his eyes in return.

Rouge steps up closer behind the two secretive whisperers, "What are you two mumbling about over here, hm?"

"_Nothing!_" Knuckles yells.

Noticing the blush across Knuckles's face deepen, Shadow smirks, "Come on. We're almost there." He starts running.

Rouge jogs next to Knuckles who glances at her, but quickly averts his eyes when he sees her peering back at him, "Come on. We need to catch up to him." Knuckles chases after Shadow, unwilling to let Rouge see his face.

_What a strange guy he is. _The chuckling bat hurries after the two in the lead.

A/N: Yay, longer chapter! I've just been chucking out these last few chapters. I've just really wanted to work with this story. This chapter focuses a lot on Knux/Rouge. I like that pairing, so if you don't I'm sorry. As for their relationship, I just see them like a kids' relationship, they pick on each other and fight, but it's all just a tease and cover up for their feelings. Aw 3 cough Anyway, hope you like it. I'm trying to make it interesting, I really am. ;


	10. Chapter Ten: Concussion

**Chapter 10: Concussion**

A throbbing pain in her hands causes Andrea to fade back into reality. Waking up, she carefully brings her hands to her face, studying them. Her right hand and up the side of her arm beams red, blue, and purple. The trickling blood crawling from her knuckles down her arm paint around the overbearing bruise. No blood stains the left hand, however, a swelling bruise extends around the right side of it.

Confused by the mysterious injuries, Andrea proceeds to inspect her surroundings. She first turns to the wall on her right and gasps at the multiple craters punched into it. Making the frightening connection, her head spins to face Akio's cot, only noticing his absence, "Akio?" She twists her legs around and plants them firmly on the ground, sitting up. After glancing down before standing, the perplexed lemur slams herself back against the wall, "Did I...?" Calming herself down, Andrea lowers herself to the floor beside the unconscious lemur. A small crimson puddle encompasses Akio's head, accentuating his pained expression.

Andrea hastily bites and rips cloth from the legs of her suit, tying pieces together to make an acceptable bandage. Gently lifting Akio's head, she inspects the wound: only the skin is badly broken, the skull isn't cracked open. Blood loss remains an issue. Cautiously, Andrea wraps the homemade bandage around Akio's skull, tightly securing the laceration—blood immediately stains the cloth.

Akio's slight motion startles the temporary nurse, "Andrea?"

"Oh, are you awake?" Andrea replies nervously.

"Are you alright? You're not still sleeping, right?" Akio moans, squinting his eyes open.

"What are you talking about? You shouldn't be asking that, _you're_ the one to worry about!"

"What do you mean? You were just screaming a moment ago. Were you having a nightmare?" the injured, but baffled, lemur insists.

"Screaming a moment—look, you're bleeding badly. At least wait until it stops before you start moving and talking," Andrea argues.

"Bleeding? Why would I be bleeding? I only just-" Akio winces as he attempts to sit upright.

"What did I just say? You don't like listening to others, do you?"

Carefully resting his head onto the floor once more, Akio manages, "Not really. Is it that obvious? You're pretty stubborn yourself, you know. Don't ridicule others until you look yourself in the mirror."

"You should ridicule others when you're in a disadvantageous and useless position as you are now," Andrea counters. "Besides, it's hard to find a mirror in such a place as this."

"Ah, I guess you're right about that."

"We finally agree on something."  
"I guess so. How fortu..." Akio's voice quickly trails off; his eyelids falling down slowly.

Andrea gently slaps the side of his face, "Hey, don't fall asleep. I need you to be awake for this. I can't move you by myself."

"Why do you...need to move me?" Akio slurs.

"Well, I imagine you might be a bit more comfortable in your cot rather than lying on hard concrete using a puddle of your blood as a pillow."

"I see your point," Akio admits. Submitting to Andrea's assistance, Akio stands up, although wobbly. Andrea directs, nearly carrying him, to his cot and lies him down gingerly.

"Does that suit your comfort, sir?" Andrea bows.

"What way is that to treat someone you clobbered?"

"So you remember?" Andrea questions.

"Yes, I do now. Are you really okay? I'm alright now, so you can say," Akio prods, warily shifting his head—lightly cringing at the pain—so he can see Andrea's expression.

"I've mentioned before I'm haunted by nightmares. I get them often. End of story," Andrea restrains her tears, although her lips quiver slightly. "Anyway, are you sure you're okay? Does your head hurts?"

"Does my head hurt? Only the part where the blood is leaking from the gash left when my head met the pavement after someone's fist smashed the side of my skull. It was quite an encounter. They got to know each other for a while. Interesting conversation."

"You sure can be scornful and sarcastic sometimes. I really enjoy the performance. Is that the agony speaking or has your jackass side revealed itself?"

"Do all criminals speak to their victims this way?!" Akio shouts.

Andrea's jaw drops, dumbstruck. The unwanted tears free themselves from Andrea's hold. Quickly whirling around, Andrea whispers, "Yeah, I guess they do."

Realizing the extent of damage his words bombed onto Andrea, Akio reaches out and grabs onto the back of her suit, "Wait. I didn't mean that. That's not what I meant to say."

"Of course that's what you meant to say. Why else would you have said it? It's true anyway," Andrea mumbles, slumping back down, her back facing Akio who still clutches her suit.

"Well, okay, that's what the jackass wanted to say, but that's not me. I get angry, I say what I shouldn't say."

"What you shouldn't, but what you want to," Andrea solemnly points out.

"I say what I _wouldn't _say, what I'd never _want_ to say. That is what I mean," Akio struggles, finally letting go of her outfit.

"Are you sure about that? You're contradicting yourself."

"Why are you making this so damn hard? You're putting too much stress on an injured person. My head hurts enough as it is," Akio sighs.

"You said you were fine."

"I lied," Akio admits blatantly.

Wiping her face, Andrea inhales deeply and spins around once more, facing Akio, "You need to stop lying. How am I supposed to know when you're saying things you want to say and mean truthfully and when you're spouting nonsense and lies?"

"You don't. And neither do I," Akio explains flatly.

"What the hell kind of answer is that?" Andrea retorts sharply.

"My kind," Akio replies, faintly smiling. Averting his eyes from Andrea and directing them towards the ceiling, he notes, "I think I'm a little lightheaded."

In response to Akio's declaration, Andrea lifts herself abruptly to her knees, high enough to hover over him.

"Oh, hello," Akio grins in reply.

"What's wrong? You're going pale. Are you still losing blood?" Andrea leans in closer, slightly turning his head. The wrap has done its job, the wound has clotted; no blood seeps from the injury. "No, the blood has stopped. Do you have a concussion? Is there a bump?" Very delicately, Andrea skims the side of Akio's head with her hand and notices a lump expanding from where her own fist contacted with his head as well as on the opposite side where the cement floor assisted in the beating. "Oh, man. Ice...we need ice. Or at least something cold. Well, it is freezing in here. Is there any rocks or something around that could be cold?" Andrea worries out loud to herself. Leaving Akio's side, she scrambles around the small cell, scavenging for anything of use. Underneath her own cot, a few stones decorate the floor—she sweeps them up. Ripping yet another piece of cloth, Andrea wraps the stones in the cloth and returns to Akio. She places the cold pack over the worse of the two forming bumps. "Does it feel cold at all?"

Attempting to cling to actuality, Akio murmurs, "Yes, it's freezing."

Andrea sighs relief, "Good, maybe it will at least do something."

"Thank you," Akio breathes lightly.

"What are you talking about? There's no need for thanks," Andrea bellows.

Tears begin welling in Akio's eyes, "Not just for helping, but for helping despite everything I've said to you."

Shocked, Andrea leans over him, "Don't worry about it. I overreacted."

Battling the tears, Akio's utters, his voice cracking, "No, I said too much. Not just today, but yesterday, too. You're not disgusting. I guess you gave me what I deserved, even if it was subconsciously." Akio lightly chuckles.

"Don't say that. I'm just as stubborn as you are. Geez, what am I saying, just keep quiet! You need to rest and try _not _to talk," Andrea coaxes.

Ignoring Andrea's suggestions, Akio continues, "No, really. I didn't mean it—any of it. I'm just irritable. Frustrated. Being in here for over a week has done that to me. A week may not seem that long to some prisoners, I'm sorry to say, but for me I'm already breaking down." Akio relinquishes to the forceful tears, "I don't want to be in here anymore. I may talk highly, but I'm just pitiful and weak."

With tears of her own dripping onto Akio's cot, Andrea whispers, "You took on a bunch of Eggman's robots. That's not weak."

"That's what happens when adrenaline gets someone going. That's all it was. I don't have any left in me," Akio whines quietly.

Andrea shakes her head, "You can bring it out again. Plus, you aren't alone in here anymore. I want to get out just as much as you do. We'll figure a way out of this somehow. Maybe we'll get lucky and someone will find us. I don't know who, but just anyone willing to free us and any other captives held here if there are any. We'll just have to come up with a plan."

"Luck isn't really friendly towards me. Bad luck was what sent me to this hellhole. That and curiosity."

"Just don't think negatively. Telling myself that has been the only way I've been able to live until now," Andrea sobs, weakly leaning over Akio, her head resting heavily on Akio's stomach.

"I'll try," Akio murmurs almost inaudibly. With the numbing cold of the stones lifting the pain from his head, the wounded lemur drifts into a slumber.

His argumentative adversary, yet dependable companion, follows him into dreamland.


End file.
